National Individual Consultant: Education Economist to enable the piloting of Pre-school Education Services funding schemes in the Republic of Moldova

UNICEF Moldova is hiring an National Individual Consultant: Education Economist, to analyze Early Childhood Education in a broader socio-economic context and support the identification of the most cost-efficient and equitable funding schemes co-developed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECR), Ministry of Finance (MoF) and UNICEF, as preparatory work for their piloting in 2022.

UNICEF’s mission in Moldova is to make sure every child in the country is healthy, educated and safe from harm, therefore having the best start in life and a fair chance to reach her or his full potential and benefit from the country’s prosperity. We believe children have a right to live in a more equitable society, where their voices are heard, and needs met as a matter of priority in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. More information on what we do in Moldova is available at: https://www.unicef.org/moldova/

How can you make a difference?

1. Purpose of assignment

Finalize a funding scheme for early education and adapt the existing legislation in order to start piloting the approved funding schemes.
The Education Economist is expected to analyze Early Childhood Education in a broader socio-economic context and support the identification of the most cost-efficient and equitable funding schemes co-developed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECR), Ministry of Finance (MoF) and UNICEF, as preparatory work for their piloting in 2022.
The national consultant will work in cooperation with Public Financial Management (PFM) and Legal Specialists (hired under separate contracts).

2. Objectives

The national consultant is expected to:
- Analyze the return on investment from a more macro socio-economic perspective for each of the 7 formulas (i.e. which formula has returns that exceed costs);
- Build the rational and the evidence to support the MECR and the MoF in identifying the most efficient and equitable formulas which should be approved by these two ministries;
- Elaborate the proposals for the piloting the formula for financing early education (in close coordination with the Public Finance Management Specialist);
- Organize the trainings on Public Finance Management for LPAs and preschool education staff in the identified districts and municipality in cooperation with the PFM Specialist;
- Contribute to the draft and advocacy for Governmental decision on piloting the formula in the two identified districts and the Chisinau Municipality starting with 2022 (in close coordination with the PFM and the Legal Specialists).

3. Details of how the work should be delivered

The Education Economist will build on the existing work already undertaken on public finance for preschools for the piloting of the selected formulas for financing the early education from the seventh models approved and recommended for piloting. The proposed preparatory work needs to be produced in close cooperation with UNICEF, the MECR and the MoF, as well as with the PFM and the Legal Specialists also involved in this initiative.

More specifically, the national consultant shall:
• Familiarize himself/herself with the current financial framework regarding the financing of early education institutions;

• Familiarize him/herself with all financing schemes and elaborate, with UNICEF support, on those approved and recommended by MoF and MECR for piloting from the perspective of equity and inclusiveness;

• Use the budget database collected and compiled by the PFM Specialist, and apply the final funding schemes approved by MECR and MoF on actual/concrete institutions to identify which are the most efficient formulas;

• Analyze the results of formula application and compare them with the situation prior the funding scheme application;

• Provide concrete recommendations for the financing of early education institutions which enable the piloting of the approved funding scheme in identified rayons and municipality;

• Participate in the elaboration of the draft Government Decision on piloting the formula in the identified districts, starting with 2022, in cooperation with the financial and legal specialists;

• Develop the criteria for identifying the piloting rayons in cooperation with PFM Specialist;

• Organize the trainings on Public Finance Management for LPAs and preschool education staff in the identified rayons in cooperation with the PFM Specialist;

• Provide support to the Government in piloting the funding schemes in identified rayons.

4. Working arrangements and reporting requirements

The Education Economist will be supervised by UNICEF Social Policy Specialist. The national consultant will work in close collaboration with the staff of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, and the Ministry of Finance, and other relevant experts in the field, UNICEF Early Childhood Development (ECD) Officer, and the Head of the General Education Directorate of the MECR.
UNICEF Social Policy Specialist and ECD Officer will provide the necessary support to achieve the objectives of the consultancy and be aware of any issues related to consultant’s performance and quality of work. 
All activities and deliverables undertaken by the Education Economist shall be discussed and planned in consultation with UNICEF, MECR and MoF and will only be executed following approval from UNICEF and these line ministries. The Education Economist is expected to deliver each component of the work-plan electronically (in Word format) in English and Romanian languages. At each stage, deliverables shall be sent to UNICEF Social Policy Specialist and ECD Officer by email. 

5. Support provided by UNICEF

UNICEF will regularly communicate with the specialist, and provide feedback, guidance and necessary support to achieve objectives of the work, as well as remain aware of any upcoming issues related to the performance and quality of work. UNICEF will provide an initial package of relevant documents and an initial list of relevant experts and counterparts to work with.  

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

- An advanced University Degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Public Administration/Policy (with a focus/specialization in economics, and/or finance), Economic governance, or other directly relevant fields with a solid knowledge of PFM instruments and proven experience (at least 5 years) with government social sector budget analysis, at national and decentralised levels;
- Experience with collecting and working with complex financial data sets;
- Good analytical and writing skills, and the ability to present the results in a simple language, making use of visual aids (maps, graphs and other visual tools);
- Experience in organizing and leading trainings in PFM at central and local levels;
- Excellent command of Romanian and English, both oral and written; knowledge of Russian is an asset;
- Strong communication (oral and written) skills;
- Previous work experience with Governmental Institutions or UN Agencies will be considered a strong asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate:
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

For more details on deliverables and minimum requirements, please refer to attached Terms of reference (ToR)

 ToR_Education Economist_VA.pdf

HOW TO APPLY: Your online application should contain two separate attachments: Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal (templates below). Please secure the Financial Proposal *.pdf document with a password on document view; the password will be requested only from technically qualified candidates.

 Technical Offer_Education Economist.docx

 Financial Offer_Education Economist.xlsx

Applications for this assignment must be received no later than: 4 December 2020

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:
Individual Consultants and Contractors are responsible for paying own taxes derived from the earnings received from UNICEF.